Couch’s Corner November 26, 2018

Boston is in town tonight for a match at 7pm on TSN4. If you have an extra ticket, I’ve got nothing on!

Boston is without Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara. This is a tough team, but that’s two big injuries. Add to that, David Pastrnak has 0 goals and 1 assist in his last 5 games and Brad Marchand has 0 goals and 1 assist in his last 6.

That’s a lot of games…

Tonight, Patrick Marleau is set to become the 11th player in NHL history to hit the 1,600-games played milestone. Marleau (540-602—1,142), who recorded his 600th assist earlier this season, would become the only active player to achieve the feat. He also ranks just behind Florida’s ironman leader Keith Yandle with an active streak of 730 consecutive games played, Yandle at 736.

Three quick ones…

Saturday evening, facing the Flyers and former Leafs netminder Calvin Pickard, Andreas Johnsson scored three goals in a span of 7:35. Fans barely had a chance to grab sushi and a beer. Johnsson single-handedly powered the Leafs to their eighth win in 11 contests. Keep in mind Johnsson’s MVP performance for the Calder Cup-winning Toronto Marlies last Spring. Loads of talent. Nice to see it come out in Toronto.

And it’s pretty damn cool that Johnsson became the eighth player in Leafs franchise history to nab a first-period hat trick and was the first to do so since Wendel Clark in 1986-87. That’s pretty lofty company to be with.

Coach Babcock on Matthews and Nylander’s returns…

“It’s my assumption we’re getting both back,” said Coach Mike Babcock a couple days ago. Matthews is a certainty returning soon – the team is letting him heal with as much extra time as possible (a smart move on their part). But Nylander? Does Coach Mike have a crystal ball handy? Or has GM Kyle Dubas given him an indication of something in the offing? Whether he’s signed, traded, or left out for the season, the deadline is December 1, 5pm.

I have a gut feeling in the next 24 hours we’ll know something. Or, quite possibly, that feeling is from this morning’s pair of McDonalds breakfast burritos.

Two games in one week with no penalties…

I wish I could explain the lack of penalties. Might it be teams are weary of taking penalties against a pretty strong Leafs power-play? Or there’s a bit of passion missing in the game? Or the on-ice officials had early dinner reservations post-game? There’s certainly next-to-no fighting in the game. That’s been in the making for a couple years now. The game has never been faster. I’m fine with that.

And for the Flyers having no penalties, Saturday’s contest was the first game in franchise history where neither team was assessed a penalty. It marked the fifth game in franchise history that the Flyers did not receive a penalty, and the first since Feb. 20, 2011 vs the Rangers. Broad Street Bullies. Ha!

Fuck cancer…

This Twitter pic from Jim puts it in perspective for the Leafs radio crew:

The Marlies dropped a 2-1 contest with Cleveland Sunday afternoon at the Coke Can Coliseum right here in Toronto. Next action is a rematch Wednesday evening at Cleveland.

As per a release from the Marlies: Mason Marchment opened the scoring at 12:19 of the first period. This was Marchment’s fifth goal in three games which includes two overtime game-winners. Marchment has 13 points (8 goals, 5 assists) through 13 games this season.

Coach Sheldon Keefe, speaking about Marchment: “The biggest thing is just that he’s continued to play with the same mindset that he had in the playoffs last year, which is that he’s a difference maker and he’s on the puck, he’s been physical, he’s using his body and his strength to win pucks and his line mates getting the puck in good areas where he can shoot it and finish it just as well as anybody we have and it’s good to see him finding the net.

The Carlton flip…

I get light-headed when I bend over to tie my shoelaces. Then we see Carlton the Bear putting on a show at the Scotiabank arena:

Couch’s Corner is a daily look at the latest Maple Leafs news and info, penned by Rick Couchman. Rick worked for years as a member of the Leafs media by writing, reporting and interviewing for Stan Fischler and The Fischler Report. He was also a morning show on-air regular with 570News radio for numerous years, as the Leafs contributor. He continues to run the oldest Leafs community on the internet.

About The Author

Rick is a long-in-the-tooth Toronto Maple Leafs fan. He's also had ongoing media credentials with the NHL, AHL, and CHL - working for Stan Fischler Hockey Services. Check out the regular Couch's Corner newsletter. Rick is the original founder and part-owner of TMLfans.ca. Follow @RickCouchman

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT

Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.